"The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Today's reading from Jeremiah begins with a loud complaint:
Woe to me, mother, that you gave me birth!a man of strife and contention to all the land!I neither borrow nor lend,yet all curse me.
When I found your words, I devoured them;they became my joy and the happiness of my heart,Because I bore your name,O LORD, God of hosts.
This passage from Jeremiah finds a complement in today's Gospel; the Lord speaks of the merchant's joy upon finding a treasure buried in a field. And both passages remind us of that seed of joy we should discover, plant, cultivate, nurture, harvest, and broadcast to everyone around us. As many seeds flower, so should our joy flourish.
This wonderful seed of Jeremiah and the Evangelists is the word of God. I personally come to this joy by way of my delight in literature. I was an English major. I love a well turned phrase and when its found in the Bible it brings me particular delight. I don't think anyone ever said it better than the King James Version: "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." (Matthew 6:34)
Much of the Bible was recorded by scribes who had devoted their lives to words and took particular delight both in hearing wonderful expressions and in recording them for posterity. When they heard a good idea badly expressed they found a better way to say the same thing, a way that would be remembered, memorized, and taught to others. It should endure for generations. I am told that some passages in the Book of Proverbs appear in Egyptian manuscripts that predated Abraham. They might have arrived in the Bible by way of the scholars in Solomon's academy in Jerusalem; they heard and knew the God's voice in an African language.
If not everyone majors in literature and most people do not cultivate the aesthetics of poetry, the holy people should nonetheless cultivate their love of God's word. We are the sheep who hear the Lord's voice amid the babble of other voices and flock around him. When he leads us out of the sheepcote to flowing springs and green fields we trip over ourselves in our eagerness to follow. We might be as dead as Lazarus -- four days in tomb, moldering, and rank -- but hearing his familiar voice we come back to life. We enjoy the words as they form in our mouths, "Here I am, Lord. I come to do your will!" Honey itself is not sweeter. (Ps 119:103)
By reading, memorizing, pondering, sharing, and discussing the Word of God with our companions and fellow sojourners we cultivate this pleasure in God's word. The day will come -- It's promised! -- when this pleasure will fade like a candle in the brilliant sunshine of God's Kingdom. In That Day we will not need to pick up a book or key a computer, for we will feel and be filled with the Divine Knowledge of God -- the Shekina of his Presence.
But in the meanwhile we taste and see the Goodness of the Lord. In the immortal words of Jackie Gleason, "How sweet it is."
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.